Feline feeding and exercise guidelines. Studies show that there are more overweight and obese pet cats in the US than there are normal and underweight cats. Carrying excess weight predisposes cats to liver disease, insulin dependant diabetes, osteoarthritis, dermatologic problems, and hypertension. Why are so many cats overweight? Lifestyle and diet changes are to blame. Many of our cats are indoor only, a situation which keeps them safe from many diseases, parasites, predators and traumatic accidents, but offers less of an opportunity for burning calories. Many cat owners are in the habit of filling the cat bowl up with food whenever it runs low. This is a convenient way to feed cats , but not necessarily the healthiest for them. Since weight gain in cats is a matter of calories in vs. calories burned it would seem that reducing the amount fed and increasing exercise would do the trick. Sounds good , but weight reduction in cats poses special concerns. Overweight cats can develop a life threatening liver condition called hepatic lipidosis if they don’t eat or have a drastic reduction in calories for a number of days, so veterinary supervision is recommended for dietary adjustment. . While taking your dog on long brisk walks may be a great way for him to burn calories, not so with your cat. First of all, very few cats will take to leash walks - cats are not small dogs! Cats are stalkers; they expend short bursts of energy when hunting prey, in the wild are often unsuccessful , and rest to reserve energy before for the next try. It gets easy to see why a cat that sleeps next to a full bowl of food is bound to get fat. Cats are also obligate carnivores, in that they require high protein diets, higher than dogs and humans who do well with a variety of food groups. This means that their diet should be a high protein, low carbohydrate, low fat diet. There are prescription weight loss diets made for this purpose. Our favorites are PVD D/M and Hills m/d. While other diets may be high in protein many are also high in fat and high in calories, so doing your homework is important. Some propose that canned diets may be better for weight loss than dry diets because of the higher moisture and lower carbohydrate content. Another benefit to using a canned diet is that this food is usually consumed when fed, which makes controlling intake in multicat households easier. Again, it is important to supervise your cat carefully when any diet change is initiated. We recommend splitting the feedings into 3 per day - one in AM, on at mid day or in the evening , and one at bedtime. If not using canned food, we recommend the same regimen. Remember total daily calorie intake must be calculated and monitored - we would be happy to assist you in doing this, as guidelines on the back of the bag may be inappropriate. In multicat households this three feeding approach will help minimize cross feeding - (remove all uneaten food between feedings) . Also, chances are that if one cat in the household is overweight, the others are too. Not sure ? We would be happy to score them for you. If difficulties still arise, feeding in separate rooms may be necessary. As far as exercise goes, we think in terms of environmental enrichment to encourage activity and exploit cat's instincts: Move the food bowls for each feeding so the cat will have to hunt the right bowl. Place the food in a different location from where your cat usually “hangs”. Provide chase toys and engage your cat twice daily. Chase toys include feathers on poles, mechanized moving toys, laser pointers, aluminum foil balls, remote control mice etc. Keep in mind that your cat might become bored with a single toy so keep several on hand to switch them out. Place bird feeders or fish tanks in different rooms to keep you cat moving. In SW Florida, where screened lanais are plentiful, wind manipulated hanging toys may provide amusement as do multiple bird feeders placed outside the screen to keep them moving and engaged. |
| Westcoast Veterinary Hospital, P.A. 239-598-2202 In the Greentree Center at Airport & Immokalee Rds. Hours M-F 8:30 -5:30 Sat 8:30-1:00 Naples Safari Animal Hospital & Pet Resort, Inc 239-592-1950 on Vanderbilt Beach Rd just East of Livingston Rd. Hours M-F 8:00-5:00 Sat 8:00-12:00N www.NaplesPetVet.com |